Garlic Recipes

Some of our favorite recipes using garlic

Lebanese Garlic Sauce Recipe: Toum, The Ultimate Guide

Recipe Author: Esperance Sammour, Originally published at http://www.mamaslebanesekitchen.com/

If you’ve ever been to a Lebanese restaurant and fell in love with that white garlic sauce that is usually offered with barbq’s or shish tawook (chicken kebobs), today is your day. This post features this garlic sauce’s recipe along with an in-depth guide and references on the chemical reaction that is at the heart of its making.

Before you start, ensure that all ingredients are at room temperature for a more reliable outcome. Also if you are using a large food processor make sure you use at least 3 heads of garlic otherwise smaller quantities of garlic may be reached by the blades.

Add the garlic and salt in the food processor and run for 10-20 seconds.

Stop processor, scrap garlic down the sides, then run processor again for another 10-20 seconds. Repeat process 3-4 times until garlic starts to turn pasty and looks crushed. This is very important to reach before proceeding.

At this point, turn the processor back on and keep it on until the end.

Start adding the oil to the processor at a very slow rate, in a very thin stream, each ½ cup at a time. After adding the first half cup you will start seeing the garlic emulsify and turn into a paste already.

Add ½ teaspoon of lemon juice very slowly, in a thin stream.

Wait on it a few seconds until the lemon juice is well absorbed.

Then go back to repeating the same process of adding slowly ½ cup of oil, waiting a few seconds, then adding ½ teaspoon of lemon juice until you’ve used all ingredients. This process should take 8-10 minutes.

If at any point you see that the paste is turning liquid, it may be an indication that you’ve added either too much lemon juice, or oil, or you may have added them at a fast rate. In this case your options may be limited especially if the paste completely breaks. Sometimes adding a cube of ice may help.

NotesDon't use heavy oils like Olive Oil or Avocado Oil or Sesame Seed Oil as they give a strong and bitter taste to the garlic. Use lighter oil such as safflower/sun flower/canola/vegetable oils.If the resulting garlic paste is too biting/strong, you could either mix it with a mashed medium size baked (or boiled) potatoe, or you can increase the amount of oil.You could also add a small pinch of citric acid in the beginning with the garlic and salt to make the paste more tangy.- See more at: http://www.mamaslebanesekitchen.com/dips/lebanese-garlic-dip/#recipe

How To Roast Garlic

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the top off your head of garlic. Place each head of garlic on a small piece of foil and drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil over the top. Wrap loosely in the foil. Place on a tray (to make removing it from the oven simple) or if your foil wrapped clove is large enough, just set it on the rack in the oven.

Roast until the head of garlic is soft and golden brown. I usually leave mine in the oven from 45-60 minutes. It is often soft by the 30 minute mark, but I like mine a deep golden brown. (I've never overcooked it, even when I've forgotten and left it in the oven for 90 minutes.) I test mine simply by squeezing the foil wrapped roasting garlic with a pair of kitchen tongs.

Carefully remove from the oven and let cool. Unwrap and use your fingers to squeeze the roasted garlic out of the clove. You can also use the tines of a fork to pull the cloves out separately. If you won't be using it right away, roasted garlic can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. Store the garlic in an airtight container, unless you'd like everything else in the refrigerator to have a rich garlic aroma as well! Enjoy!

Roasted garlic. Just adding those two words to a dish takes it up a notch.Have you roasted garlic before? I have no idea why it intimidated me, but until about a year ago, I'd never even tried doing it. Now that I know how easy it is, I can't get enough of it. I have to resist roasting every head of garlic that enters my house. (You think I'm kidding, but I'm not.)

Craft Your Own Fire Cider!

Recipe Author: Erin at Mountain Rose, Originally published at http://mountainroseblog.com/fire-cider/

Mmm…mmm…how I love this hot and sweet, zesty, vinegary recipe!Fire Cider is a traditional remedy with deep roots in folk medicine. The tasty combination of vinegar infused with powerful anti-microbial, decongestant, and spicy circulatory movers makes this recipe especially pleasant and easy to incorporate into your daily diet to help boost natural immune system processes, stimulate digestion, and get you nice and warmed up on cold days.Because this is a folk preparation, the ingredients can change from year to year depending on when you make it and what's growing around you. The standard base ingredients are apple cider vinegar, garlic, onion, ginger, horseradish, and hot peppers, but there are plenty of other herbs that can be thrown in for added kick. This year I had lots of spicy jalapenos and vibrant rosemary in the garden, so I used those along with some organic turmeric powder in the cupboard and fresh lemon peel. Some people like to bury their fire cider jar in the ground for a month while it extracts and then dig it up during a great feast to celebrate the changing of the seasons.Fire Cider can be taken straight by the spoonful, added to organic veggie juice (throw in some olives and pickles and think non-alcoholic, health boosting bloody mary!), splashed in fried rice, or drizzled on a salad with good olive oil. You can also save the strained pulp and mix it with shredded veggies like carrots, cabbage, broccoli, and fresh herbs to make delicious and aromatic stir-fries and spring rolls! I like to take 1 tbsp each morning to help warm me up and rev the immune system, or 3 tbsp if I feel the sniffles coming on.

Garlic Scape Pesto #2

10 to 12 large garlic scapes, with the bulb removed, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 cup (lightly packed) clean and dry basil leaves

1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 to 1 cup (or more depending on how thick you want your pesto) of good quality olive oil

1/2 to 1 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese

Prep Time: 15 minutesTotal Time: 15 minutes

PREPARATIONAdd garlic scapes, basil and salt to the large bowl of a food processor. Start processing, adding oil slowly. Stop processing and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Once a smooth paste has been achieved, add parmesan and process until completely mixed in.

Stop processing and all of the nuts. Pulse processor until nuts are roughly chopped and fully mixed in. This gives the pesto a great texture.

Storage Suggestions:

Put in an airtight container and cover with a thin layer of olive oil. Will keep refrigerated for a week or two.

Spoon garlic scape pesto into ice cube trays. When cubes are frozen, remove and transfer to a plastic freezer bag.

Serving Suggestions:

One of our favorite meals is to grill sausage, chicken or fish and serve it with pasta and garlic scape pesto

Zucchini Stir Fry with Garlic

Found this recipe on television approx. 10+ years ago and everyone loves it !! When cooking my veggies, only cook long enough to have them . done. That way, once you add the sauce and everything else the veggies are not over cooked. I used the Garlic Ben sold me from Baja a few weeks back, he was traveling through Denver/Arvada , Colorado . It is called Ajo Morado .. You can also adjust the amount of spice for your own liking. Sauté 8-10 fresh garlic cloves, depending on cloves clove size. Slicing into thin slices before placing in skillet. Using Toasted Sesame oil, add 1-2 TLBS when the skillet gets hot, toss in the garlic. The garlic will turn a golden brown when done. Take garlic out of skillet and place your spices and ginger in the skillet. You will use 2 tsp. Chinese 5 spice powder 1-2 TLBS Szechwan Seasoning powder, fresh ginger 1-2 inches with the skin taken off. Sliced very thin and rough chopped, set aside. Stir these around for a minute or two until you can smell the spices then add the ginger cooking 2 minutes longer. Take off heat and set aside. Prep your veggies. You need to cut everything up in a large dice except for the carrots. Dice small as they take longer to cook. 2 each of sweet onions and bell peppers, 2 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, 2 medium onion or 1 large. 2 cups shredded cabbage and 2 cups sliced zucchini. Once the veggies are cubed, set your skillet back on the stove and add 2-4 tsp. of the Toasted Sesame Oil. Toss in 1 tsp pepper for taste and start cooking the carrots, onions, bell peppers and celery over med and med-high heat.

Cook and stir 3-4 minutes, then toss cabbage and zucchini. Stir well, cover with a lid and cook a 4-5 of minutes. Add 1 med size can tomato sauce and . cup water. Add to this, 2 Tlbs. Each Worcestershire Sauce and Soy Sauce. If you like more sauce, use up to 2 cups chicken stock from a box. There is enough sodium no additional salt is needed Pepper will be needed.

You might want to try dicing up a garlic scape, added to the veggie pan while it is cooking.

About 10 minutes before your sauce is cooked. Cook your Angel Hair pasta in salted water until it is almost done. Drain - will finish cooking in the veggies mixture.

A large serving bowl is needed; pour in the pasta pour sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle 2 cups of Italian cheese over the mixture. Let this sit for a minute or two so the cheese can melt into the veggies.

Serve with Garlic Bread. I process my own garlic powder also. When making your garlic bread, use fresh roasted garlic powder. Whip the garlic powder into the softened butter and spread on the bread. Place under the Broiler for a couple of minutes!! Yum 

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Alie Hamilton alie3@kci.net Crook, Colorado

Mojo Sauce

Amazing as a dressing, marinade, sauce on meats, veggies (raw or roasted), wraps and more. it is a zesty zingy addition to any creative meal.

Mojo Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch cilantro

1/2 bunch parsley

1/4 olive oil

5 cloves garlic

juice of 1 lime

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

Preparation:

Water to thin to desired consistency (we like ours like the consistency of dressing)Blend all ingredients in food processor or blender until smooth. stores in fridge for 5 days.

Roasted Garlicky Dressing

INGREDIENTS

1 head of sweet roasting garlic (we like the ajo morado/baja garlic)

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp lemon

2 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp miso

salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATIONRoast garlic. squeeze out roasted garlic into bowl. The garlic should be creamy and sweet. Combine remaining ingredients and stir well. add salt and pepper to taste and thin with water if desired.

We keep it thick for dipping or spreading and thin it out for dressing. Tastes amazing on fresh green salads, potato salad, with raw veggies and is a great base for other inspired dressings.